


Flourishing, Budding, Blooming, Blossoming

by Syntaria



Category: Naruto
Genre: Canon Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, F/F, Minor Character Death, Sexual Content, Slow Build, alcohol use, implied sex work, mention of NaruHina
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-17
Updated: 2014-08-17
Packaged: 2018-02-13 12:54:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2151495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Syntaria/pseuds/Syntaria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Tenten wonders how long she can ignore her growing crush.</p><p>When she is summoned to the Hokage tower for her next mission, only to find herself working with Hinata, she admits to herself that it's far too late."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Flourishing, Budding, Blooming, Blossoming

Tenten leans against the training dummy, lazily twirling a kunai on one of her fingers. She looks at the Hyuuga girl standing in front of her, waiting for her to speak. She had been quietly waiting behind some trees for at least half an hour, and though Tenten was patient (with teammates like hers, she had to be), she had eventually just called for her to come out. It was not as though the other girl was distracting or threatening, but just as Tenten was patient, she was curious. The curiosity only grew as Hinata had listened to her, but had continued to stand quietly, simply wringing her hands in front of her but not saying a word.

“Well,” Tenten says, drawing the word out but not really expecting Hinata to say anything. She has had little experience with the other girl, but Tenten can tell when people are too shy for their own good. 

“Um...well, that is...”

But though Tenten waits, the other girl does not go on. She simply bits her lip, ducking her gaze down to the ground between them. Tenten frowns, a little astounded by just how different the two cousins were. Neji, though fairly quiet, had never appeared so ashamed over something as simple as having trouble with words. (Then again, she thought to herself, she had never known Neji to have trouble with his words, just a reluctance to share them at times).

“Neji,” Tenten intones, shifting her gaze off of the other girl and tucking the kunai back into its holder, “wandered off about an hour before you showed up.”

When her words are greeted with only more silence, Tenten glances at the other girl and frowns. Hinata has visibly wilted at her words, her arms hanging limply at her sides. Tenten would almost prefer her to poke her index fingers together, because at least then she knew Hinata was still in there. 

“If you really need to find him,” she speaks to break the silence and to break whatever dark thoughts have taken over Hinata's mind, “I'd be happy to help you look. I mean if you need it—with that Byakugan of yours, you'd probably be able to find him no problem.” Hinata visibly twitches, and Tenten goes on, pretending not to notice, “but Neji can be an ass if he doesn't want to be found. I've got a bit more experience with that, I think.” She winks playfully once Hinata raises her head, eyes wide, and she smiles when Hinata seems to bite back a guilty giggle.

“Um, no, no that's okay Tenten,” Hinata says, “I was um...I was just going to see if, um, if he would help me train. Father is um, well that is...”

“Say no more!” Tenten grins, once Hinata has trailed off again and likely wouldn't have said anymore under torture anyway. “Maybe I can be of help? Neji and I train together a lot, so I've got at least a basic idea of how things are supposed to work.” 

She watches as Hinata seems to struggle for an answer, and she thinks about why on earth Neji would have let his disdain for the main house ever translate to this girl. She thinks about what Neji has told her about the seal, about the gossip she has heard about people who would kill to understand their sacred eyes. She imagines Hinata laid spread-eagle on the ground, even paler in death, a gaping loss where her kind gaze once was and pretty pink mouth just as open and empty in a silenced scream. 

She gives herself the smallest shake, bringing herself back to the moment, as Hinata seems to steel herself before bowing just so in front of her, “Um, please, if you would, Tenten, would you train with me?”

Tenten smiles in relief. 

 

–

As time goes on, Tenten finds herself going on fewer and fewer missions with her team from their genin days. She often finds herself working solo, information gathering more often than not. She is not particularly fond of these missions, as they require less of her ability as a kunoichi and more of her ability to blend into the background, perhaps flirt her way into a target's good graces, where sake and beautiful women make for loose lips. She does not talk about these missions with her former team when they meet up for dinner. Instead she asks them about their own missions, laughing and joking with Lee, slyly using the waitress' crush on Neji to score a free drink (and to laugh at his expression when her number appears on his napkin). 

Sometimes, they share stories about the others, and for Tenten, this means talking about Hinata.

She listens happily when Neji comments that Hinata has been improving at a steady rate, but she is not surprised. They had continued their training as the years had progressed, and Tenten knows that Neji has worked with her to overcome whatever stumbling blocks Tenten could not help her with. She bites her tongue when he mentions how his uncle seems to be pleased with her progress, remembering when Hinata told her about his dismissal of her all those years ago, and how he had always shown a preference for her little sister even when he had taken Hinata back under his wing. There had been no malice in her voice, but Tenten bears the grudge for her. 

Lee remarks that he has seen Kiba buying flowers at the Yamanaka's shop, and Tenten feels a flash of annoyance when she pictures him offering them to Hinata. Her annoyance only grows when Lee elbows Neji playfully, asking if he would need help with an alibi at all. Neji scoffs and Tenten huffs, and Lee looks at them both with an exaggerated grin. She can feel Neji's thoughtful gaze on her after that, but she ignores it. 

She turns the topic over to one of the salves that Chouji had lent to her after a scuffle with a shinobi from Kusagakure, commenting that her wound had healed virtually scarless after she'd used it. Neji tells her that Hinata has been experimenting and improving with her medical salves for years, and she often gives samples to her old school mates. While Lee exclaims about her talents while also managing to paint Sakura's advances in medicine in a brighter light, Tenten wonders how long she can ignore her own growing crush.

When she is summoned to the Hokage tower for her next mission, only to find herself working with Hinata, she admits to herself that it's far too late.

 

–

They're on their way back from a village in Mist country when Hinata shouts a warning about a tail. Tenten doesn't have much time to think after that, as they have to skid to a halt to avoid activating a trip wire. As far as ambushes go, they are not particularly threatening, but Tenten knows that even the greatest shinobi have fallen to chance. 

Tenten has always been more comfortable with ranged weapons, she admits, but she has also grown with her experiences. She knows that sometimes you have no choice but to engage in small quarters. The clearing they stopped just shy of would have provided more room, particularly for somebody using the Hyuuga's token kaiten, and she hopes Hinata has the sense not to fall for such a threat. Tenten focuses on the shinobi who drop from the trees and pushes herself off from the trunk to avoid a poorly thrown series of shuriken. Here in the restricted space, she is in her element, for her weapons are extensions of her fingers and she has never truly needed distance to make them work. She feels the clash of kunai against her tanto reverberate down her arm and she eyes her opponents, mind reeling with possibilities. They each wear different hitai-ate, village symbols scratched out. But as they move in their dance, Tenten bending and swaying and blocking and attacking carefully, she notes that they do not appear to be particularly high in rank. Their steps are not as sure-footed, their teamwork sloppy at best. Indeed, they seem not to know how to work together at all, each attacking her at the same instance but not from different sides, instead forcing the other to hastily withdraw their own attack else be hit by the other.

She knows that an exploding ward “accidentally” dropping to one's feet is often overlooked if you force your opponent to focus instead on a summoning scroll. She is almost disgusted by how easy they fall for it, as she summons her kusarigama, leaping back and up into the mid-hanging branches of their surrounding trees. She watches them watch her, and when one steps forward onto the tag, she rains a handful of senbon down upon them in a circle. When the smoke clears, she sees that the one who activated the explosion was too slow to move, and the other had jumped straight into the needles. He is cursing, trying to pull them out while trying to jump at her, and Tenten is not surprised these shinobi were allowed to go missing, but rather surprised they have survived the world as long as they have.

She expertly twirls her weapon above her, and though her opponent does have the sense to avoid the scythe, he fails to recognize the danger of the chain. Particularly since has modified her own chain to resemble the head of a flail. So when he dives out of the way of her scythe, he dives directly into the spiked ball she swings with ease. It catches him on the side of his head, the weight doing more damage than the spikes themselves, and he plummets back to the earth below.   
Tenten remains tense, quickly scanning the area when she doesn't immediately see Hinata. What she does see is a small divot in the soil not two feet from the clearing's space, and a series of sharp twigs and shrapnel of bark snapped off of the trees surrounding it. She recognizes a low-grade version of the kaiten, not as perfect as Neji's but effective regardless, as she spots then the shuriken sticking Hinata's opponents against a tree. 

She leaps away from the contact when she feels a gentle hand rest upon her shoulder. Instinct has her pulling her kunai and twirling mid-jump to see. Hinata has her own kunai pulled out, not in an attacking stance, but in defense. She doesn't appear to be harmed at all. Tenten narrows her eyes, even as a she feels a dead weight lift from her shoulders.

“Hinata,” she snaps out regardless, as she allows herself to drop to the ground and begin collecting her senbon, “What if I had been an enemy using genjutsu?”

Hinata is quiet, and when Tenten turns her head to look, she is legitimately surprised to see the scowl on Hinata's face. Her eyebrows are knit together and Tenten thinks to herself that this is the first time that she has seen Hinata glare—the resemblance she and Neji share in their completely unimpressed expression is astounding. 

“Do you really think so little of me that I do not recognize the chakra of my best friend?”

Tenten lets her tension drop, and Hinata lets her expression soften just a fraction. They both snap their gaze to the man who moans on the ground, apparently still alive despite the shock of having a foot blown off and left to bleed out in the heat of battle. Tenten moves to silence him, but Hinata shakes her head and steps in her way. “Gather your things,” Hinata says, her focus on the man dying in front of them.

Tenten thinks of her as a girl, then, remembering how Hinata had shared her own thoughts that maybe she would be better of as a medic-nin. Tenten had said that she did not have to give up being a kunoichi in order to practice her medicine, and she should know because she had once trained so hard to be just like Tsunade, before having to admit that her healing capacities would never be that strong. The girl in front of her has a kind nature that most would have lost by now, and while Tenten plucks the senbon she had thrown out of the other corpse (careful of the poison that would have claimed him had he lived long enough to feel it), she watches Hinata kneel gracefully by the man's side.

“There is no need to fight,” she hears her whisper, “just go to sleep.” The man twitches again, and Hinata's byakugan is active, and Tenten is trying not to scream about proximity and illusions and how the only time an enemy is safe is when the enemy is dead. Hinata reaches a pale hand out to the man's head, the other moving over his chest, and Tenten can see the pale blue chakra gathering at the tips of her fingers. “Sleep soundly,” Hinata says, and she closes his eyes with one hand while the other is a blur of motion, closing off crucial chakra points, then using a full palm to overstimulate the heart.

They are quiet, Tenten cleaning off her weapons and Hinata scanning around them for any other threats. Tenten thinks about the girl who came to her training ground, too afraid to meet her eyes and ask after her own cousin. She packs away the last of her tools and thinks of the stories people told her about the fight between the cousins, about the look in Hinata's eyes, the determined square to her shoulders, how even though she was coughing up her own blood she pushed on. She thinks of this girl and looks at the girl—no, no Tenten thinks, she is a woman now, isn't she? She looks at the woman in front of her, to the and Tenten reprimands herself for forgetting just how strong Hinata has always been. 

They begin their journey back to their village after burning the bodies. Tenten does not apologize, and Hinata does not need her to. 

–

The Hyuuga compound is silent when the sun rises on a cold, dreary day. The birds that once sat caged just inside the walls have their heads tucked under their wings, their usual morning songs conspicuous in their absence. The family gathers in the inner gardens and stands still as stone, waiting, eyes shining and fists clenched. 

Neji's body is burned and his name engraved on the memorial monument of Konohagakure. Hinata's eyes are dry that day, and they are dry now, as she slowly raises the cage of birds that Neji had cared for all these years. The family is gathered for their own private mourning, and they will mourn for days, and they will remember Neji as a hero, a saviour, and a protector. 

Hinata opens the cage and she remembers Neji as a young boy, as a friend, and as a brother. The birds fly free, the flutter of their wings a whisper against her cheeks, and she does not allow herself to cry. She remembers his words, she remembers the smile on his lips, and she swallows, but she does not cry.

Tenten meets her at their old training ground with a bottle of sake and with bloodied knuckles. She raises the bottle to her lips in gratitude, to hell with cups. Their grief will eat them alive if they let it fester, but neither are willing to let it show. Tenten refused to mourn as openly as Lee, consoled the boy through his own tears, the shock still settling over her, refusing to believe that Neji was the first among them to fall. She thinks of the future he could have had, about the life he lived, and she thinks about how easy it had become for him to laugh and smile. She punches the ground in front of her, but Hinata does not say a word.

Hinata relives the moment she decided to jump in front of Naruto, causing her beloved cousin to jump in front of her. She sees it whenever she closes her eyes, the way his body jerked with the impact, the way he fell back against her. He had told Naruto not to blame her, and Hinata wants to blame him, but she can only blame herself. Because she should have remembered how seriously Neji had taken his vows, should have considered that every time she put herself in danger, she was actually putting Neji's life on the line.

She drinks most of the sake. Tenten does not begrudge her. She simply lifts another bottle from her bag. 

They pass the night like this, lost in their own memories and their own speculations. Around them, life goes on. The bustle of the village can be heard with strained ears, but immediately around them there is a different sound. There is the rustle of trees as the squirrels scurry and chase each other. As the moon rises there is the distinctive hoot of an owl, followed after by the squeal of field-mice diving for cover. The sound of leather wings beating in the air as the moon sets, bats full and heading back to the deep forest to rest. It isn't until the unmistakable sound of a mourning dove sitting above them cries out that the girls react. 

“It...There was nothing you could do,” Tenten says stiffly. She believes it. She does not blame Hinata and she does not think that Hinata should blame herself.

Hinata meets her gaze then, and the alcohol has lowered her self control, because her eyes are positively shining. “That's the point,” and she gulps back the sobs and the shudders, because she does blame herself, and she does not think she deserves the release that crying will grant her.

The dove's cries follow them as they walk away, their hearts heavy with grief and ghosts nipping at their heels.

–

It seems like ages before they are able to move forward, and in that time, there is a strain between them. There is a distance and an air of something missing every time they meet, briefly, in the streets. They have not had many missions, even after the battles of war have finally begun to calm. There are whispers of peace, a laughable notion to a shinobi, but by comparison Tenten relents that there is not much else to call it. Each of them have grown closer to the others over the years, seeking friendship and distractions. Tenten pretends that she is not bothered when Naruto takes Hinata on a date, but she meets Aburame Shino's eyes the next day and knows she is not the only one struggling with it. When Hinata sees the two of them talking and Tenten laughs at something Shino has said, she feels a tug at her heart, but she firmly ignores it just as she has for years. 

Her relationship with Naruto does not last, and what she is truly surprised about is that it does not bother her. Instead, when Naruto had given her that sheepish smile, she could not help but recall an age old conversation she had with her cousin, so many years ago. 

“She cares a great deal for you,” and there was a playful lilt to his mouth, betraying the reality that there was more that he would not say. At the time, she had freely admitted to him that Tenten was one of her dearest, most beloved friends, that she was happy to know Tenten might feel the same. Neji's gaze had flickered, his lips twitching to say more, but instead settling into a sheepish expression that seemed so out of place on his usually dignified person. 

A few weeks later, Tenten and Hinata bump into one another in the market while buying groceries. Tenten has heard about her break up with Naruto, and offers her condolences; Hinata merely smiles and waves her concerns off. She does not say that another person had caught her eye and distracted her, that their relationship felt more like a hollow wish fulfilment, instead only saying that she was happy such a great person was her friend. Tenten has known her for years, and she watches but Hinata has known her just as long, and does not reveal anything.

Tenten reminds herself that she is brave, takes a deep breath, and asks Hinata out for dinner. Hinata grins, but then grimaces, apologizing but she has already agreed to meet Shino and Kiba. Tenten is welcome to come, but their eyes meet, and both understand that they would rather be together on their own. Hinata suggests meeting up tomorrow, but Tenten can only shake her head with a rueful smile – she and Lee had a mission tomorrow, and they likely wouldn't be back for another week. 

Hinata nods thoughtfully, catching her bottom lip between her teeth. Tenten's eyes zero in on the motion just as they do all of her targets. She is not surprised when Hinata's lips slowly inch up into a sly smile—she only lifts her gaze and allows Hinata to truly see her, what and who she wants, unmistakable in her heated gaze. Hinata quietly offers her the address to her new apartment building, truly regretful that she likely would be out very late with the boys, but making sure Tenten knows she is free to stop by when she is free. 

They talk for a few more minutes, a carefree and honest exchange of words that hits them both as what has been missing. They smile more, deliberately but subtly wetting their lips, shifting their stances closer to one another, so that near the end of their conversation their hands brush against one another.

When they part, the girl inside Tenten moves to embrace her friend, a liberty both rarely allowed themselves. But it is the woman who acts, instead, long concealed and burning for this moment, brushing her lips against the others' in what is ultimately a very chaste kiss, but with an intent behind it that both revel in. She winks as she pulls back and away, and as Hinata watches her go, she begins the mental countdown to Tenten's return.

–

Moonlight is filtering through the windows of Hinata's bedroom window, the slightest of breezes reaching through and ruffling the pale curtains. The light inside is dim, and the moonlight adds an almost silvery glow to the sheen of swear that covers Hinata's naked body. The breeze is cold enough to prickle her skin, and she shivers, but it's more from the heat of Tenten's gaze. Tenten's mouth is warm on her breast, the wet heat covering her nipple, and when Hinata's breath hitches, Tenten smiles against her skin. One of Hinata's hands tangles itself into Tenten's hair, the other clutching at the sheets beneath her. Tenten's hands wander Hinata's body: ghosting around her waist, tweaking the other nipple, scratching lightly down her back and teasing around Hinata's curls, but not quite touching where Hinata needs her to. Teasing is not new to them, though this level was something both had only allowed themselves to dream of before.

Tenten places one last kiss Hinata's breast, blowing lightly against the peaked flesh before she withdraws. Hinata's face is flushed as she pulls Tenten up into a bruising kiss, teeth nibbling and tongue desperate to taste every inch of the other as she can. Tenten groans lightly, brushing Hinata's long hair back over her shoulder and cupping the back of her neck. Her other hand rests on Hinata's bare thigh, and her fingers slowly inch upwards, tickling and circling. 

When Tenten's fingers slip into Hinata's folds, Hinata's eyes flutter, because it is so different from her own fingers, and so different from what she has experienced before. Tenten watches her, looking for her cues, as her fingers slowly twist and slip in and out, learning Hinata's body and trying to find exactly what Hinata likes. Hinata kisses her, her own hands focusing on Tenten's body, ghosting over her back and shoulders, fingertips flickering over her breasts and keeping everything between them playful and light. 

Tenten appreciates it, but at the same time, she has been craving Hinata's embrace, her taste, since she was a young woman. She pulls back from the kiss and instead scoots down the bed, pushing Hinata down onto her back, and tracing invisible lines down her stomach. Hinata tenses just slightly, but when Tenten raises her eyebrows, Hinata smiles and breathes in, to relax.

Tenten kisses around her, nipping at the skin on her hips and the sucking a dark bruise on Tenten's inner thigh, waiting, until Hinata squirms just so, to taste her. Hinata sucks in a sharp breath at the sensation of Tenten's tongue inside her, warm and so foreign but so very welcome. She tangles her hand in Tenten's hair once more, and Tenten responds by turning her attention to Hinata's clit. Her grin when Hinata begins to writhe and gasp is almost feral.

Hinata digs her nails into Tenten's skin when she comes, her pretty pink mouth open in a silent scream, chest heaving. Tenten sits up slowly, smile still in place, and Hinata surges up to catch her mouth, to taste herself on Tenten's tongue. And she pushes the other woman back against the bed, straddling her hips and kissing at her neck.

They pass many nights like this, each of them realizing that they don't have to hold back, they can touch and tease and laugh and everything will still be great in the morning. They slip in and out of sleep, light naps after orgasms or exhaustion from missions. They hold each other soothingly after nightmares, sometimes talking in whispers about the things that haunt them and the things that probably should, but don't. More and more of Tenten's things begin to find their way into the apartment, until Hinata asks her if she'd just like to sign the lease with her.

Tenten is glad for it, because that means that almost every day, when dawn breaks over the village, she is able to watch the sunlight slowly filter over Hinata's form, hair mused with sleep and smile content. She knows her own smile is just as happy as she watches over her love.

**Author's Note:**

> Unbeta'd.
> 
> I actually haven't really read or watched the series in about five years (aside from checking up on favourite characters' status, which is how I found out about Neji), but when I was going through some of my old fanfics, I felt this one could use some attention. This was originally written in the same "Five moments" vein that my other Naruto fics are, but I decided to challenge myself into fleshing it out a bit more. This was the result. 
> 
> I've never actually written porn before, so sorry about that. I'm not sure it can really be described as ~explicit~, but between that and the attempt at a fight scene, I figured it would be better to be safe. If readers disagree, I'll adjust the rating accordingly.
> 
> Also, if there is anything in here you need tagged, please tell me. 
> 
> Ah, also--the horrible attempt at a title comes from the idea that a healthy interpersonal relationships "are not merely happy, but (are) characterized by intimacy, growth, and resilience. Flourishing relationships also allow a dynamic balance between focus on the intimate relationships and focus on other social relationships." (from the ~Interpersonal Relationship~ wikipedia entry.)


End file.
